By Stefan Coerts

The flamboyant club owner has insisted that the France international is not for sale at any price this winter as they aim to hold on to the defender

Montpellier president Louis Nicollin has made it clear that Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa will not leave the Ligue 1 champions in the January transfer window.

The France international was believed to be close to joining AC Milan earlier this summer, but the move eventually fell through as the Rossoneri refused to meet Montpellier's valuation of the defender.

A number of recent reports suggested that Milan could make another move for Yanga-Mbiwa in January, but Nicollin has stressed the centre-back is going nowhere.

"Is there any possibility that Yanga-Mbiwa will leave in January? Absolutely not," Nicollin stressed to calciomercato.com.

"We’re working on extending Yanga-Mbiwa’s contract. In any case, the only thing that’s certain at the moment is that Yanga-Mbiwa won’t leave in January.

"Are Juventus and Barcelona are also interested in Yanga-Mbiwa? To be honest, nobody has asked us about him. I don’t know if any clubs have been in contact with Yanga-Mbiwa’s agent, and I honestly don’t care."

Yanga-Mbiwa's current contract with Montpellier is due to expire at the end of the season.